Author Archives: Jim Small

Capitol veterans have taken notice of Andy Tobin. He's in his first year as majority whip in the House of Representatives, but ask many of the lobbyists and others with a long tenure at the Capitol and they'll tell you he's handled what can be a difficult position with aplomb. Basically, his job is to ensure there is enough support for bills before they come to the floor and that lawmakers are present for votes - a heavy responsibility, considering his caucus has 35 members.

Senate Republicans have postponed a vote to permanently replace Senate Majority Whip Pamela Gorman, who resigned her leadership position earlier in the day. But they did choose a temporary replacement: freshman Sen. Steve Pierce.

Nearly one-fifth of the state’s general fund revenues eroded in the 2009 fiscal year, the largest decline on record since World War II. New revenue figures show the state was short nearly $479 million in fiscal 2009, which ended June 30.

In January, House Minority Leader David Lujan said it would be up to the leaders of the Republican majority caucus to determine what role Democrats would play in the legislative session.
They ended up being sidelined and were never included in the process by Republican leaders or GOP Gov. Jan Brewer.

The wear and tear of the 2009 session was visible on the faces of virtually every legislator, lobbyist and staffer at the Capitol, leaving little doubt that this year will be etched into the memories of those who watched it.

Kirk Adams was elected speaker of the House after campaigning on a platform of opening up the budget process to make it more transparent to lawmakers and the public. How well that was achieved has been debated throughout the session at the Capitol, but Adams maintains the Legislature is moving toward that goal.

Lawmakers saw little success in 2009 when it came to getting legislation approved. Much like the mighty Casey of baseball lore, representatives and senators were sent back to the dugout with little to show for their turn at bat.

The House of Representatives has given its approval to a budget deal that was hammered out with the governor earlier this week, but it is unknown when the Senate will take up the matter as it isn’t clear if they have the votes needed to pass it.